Business case development

A strong business case starts with a clear understanding of the service need – the ‘why’ behind the investment. We specialise in establishing this foundation through collaborative Investment Logic Mapping workshops, aligned with the Investment Management Standard, to define the core need, alongside your stakeholders. This is then rigorously substantiated with contextual and data analysis, ensuring the case for change is firmly rooted in a clearly defined problem, which, in turn, guides the development of logical and effective options. By focusing on a data-driven, problem-centric approach, we help you build robust business cases that drive results and secure stakeholder alignment.

A robust demand assessment is critical for substantiating the need for investment. It confirms the current and projected needs across sectors to achieve economic, social or environmental objectives. Our approach to demand assessments combines rigorous research, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and market sounding to establish the essential inputs, parameters, and assumptions. This multi-faceted methodology allows for the triangulation of information, resulting in robust and credible demand scenarios that effectively inform strategic options scoping.

We employ rigorous evaluation methodologies to compare options against each other and to a base case. This includes a Multi-Criteria Analysis for rapid, participatory assessments and Cost-Benefit Analysis for more in-depth evaluation of shortlisted options. Being experts in market and non-market valuation, we incorporate a range of values into the analysis to reflect broader societal and environmental outcomes. We ensure robustness by undertaking comprehensive sensitivity analysis, testing the limits of any inputs and assumptions to inform options selection.

Our team of accredited Business Case Gateway Reviewers are experienced in both business case development and review. We not only facilitate economic and financial reviews, including for a Gateway review process, but ensure all business case outputs meet the standards to be fit-for-purpose for independent assessments.